Virtual exploring is the new way to go
With non-essential establishments having to close their doors Many Townshippers are looking for activities they can do right in their living rooms.
Three of Sherbrooke’s major cultural institutions, Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke, Musée d’histoire de Sherbrooke, and Musée de la nature et des sciences de Sherbrooke is offering virtual exhibitions that can be explored right from the couch.
The Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke is making their content from their collection and exhibitions available to the public by presenting it virtually on social media and their own website. “We are posting new content surrounding works from our current exhibitions as well as images of works from our collection on Facebook and Instagram to stay active and accessible,” said Cynthia Lamontagne, Head of communications and Marketing for (Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke) MBAS.
The museum has two exhibitions currently taking place by artists Simon Beaudry and Anna Wong and the museum wants to make sure the hard work of these artists does not go unseen.
On Thursday, April 16, the museum organized a virtual tour of Beaudry’s ‘La charge, fiction et réalité dramatiques’ exhibition, presented by Beaudry live on MBAS’ Facebook page.
The virtual tour remains accessible at https://www.facebook.com/mbasherbrooke/.
According to Lamontagne, MBAS has also made Beaudry’s presentation available on their website at http:// mbas.qc.ca/simon-claude-beauvreau-lacharge-fiction-et-realite-dramatiques/ for those interested in having more details regarding the exhibition.
They have made two videos available of Anna Wong’s exhibition available on their website as well as their Youtube channel at http://mbas.qc.ca/annawong-periple-sur-deux-chemins/.
“We have also put some photos of our temporary exhibitions online on our website so that people can get a glimpse of them even though they are closed.”
Uncertain as to when the museum will open its doors again, MBAS is doing their best to try and improve their virtual presence. “We continue to work to improve our virtual offering for current exhibitions and cultural activities. In particular, we offered a virtual version of our Art Beehive on Sunday, April 5. We are looking forward to making another one soon thanks to the great participation rate we received!”
Art Hives are free artistic workshops open to everyone and they encourage independent learning, creativity, and sharing.
For those interested in digging up the past, The Musée d’histoire de Sherbrooke offers its very own exhibition titled ‘To your machines!’ which highlights Sherbrooke’s industrial history and the daily life of its citizens.
The exhibition is divided into six themes and features hundreds of historical photographs and documents.
The virtual exhibition is available to explore in French only at https://mhist. org/en/exhibitions/to-your-machines/.
The museum is also keeping people engaged by posting historical tidbits along with photographs from their archives on their Facebook page.
Sherbrooke’s Science and Nature Museum has made three virtual exhibitions available in both English and French.
One exhibition allows visitors to dive into the museum’s large storage collection and they also have an exhibition dedicated to hummingbirds and their hummingbird collection.
Both exhibitions are available on their website at https://mns2.ca/en/exhibitions-categories/virtual/.
Their third virtual exhibition, dedicated to urban wildlife in Sherbrooke, is available to view at http://faune-urbaine-urban-wildlife.mns2.ca/ville-cityeng.php?uid=1.